The evaluation of the changes in enzymatic antioxidant reserves and lipid peroxidation in chosen parts of the brain in an animal model of Parkinson disease

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The causes of Parkinson's disease are not fully understood; however, increasing evidence implicates oxidative stress.

OBJECTIVES

The study was aimed at assessing the nature of the changes in the oxidation-antioxidant balance in the cerebral cortex, striatum, hippocampus, thalamus, and cerebellum in a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Sixteen male Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups: Icontrol, IIParkinson's disease. The 8-weeks-old animals were decapitated, their brains removed and the following structures dissected and then frozen for further biochemical assays: cerebral cortex, striatum, hippocampus, thalamus and cerebellum. The activities of: the catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the isoenzymes: Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD; together with the malondialdehyde (MDA) and the total oxidative status (TOS) concentrations were measured in each structure.

RESULTS

A significantly increased activities of SOD, Cu/ZnSOD, GST and reduced GR activity and an increase of MDA concentration were observed in the striatum of PD rats, comparing to the control group, combined with a significantly reduced activities of GR,SOD, Cu/ZnSOD and an increased GPX activity and MDA concentration in the hippocampus, a significantly lower GR, SOD, MnSOD, Cu/ZnSOD, and GST activities in the cerebral cortex. A significantly lower GR activity, higher CAT activity and MDA concentration in the thalamus and a significantly increased GR activity in the cerebellum were observed in PD rats compared to the corresponding control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Oxidative stress in PD involves many brain structures and various antioxidant enzymes and oxidative status parameters become dysfunctional, depending on the area of the brain, which might reflect the complexity of the clinical symptoms of PD.

Discovery of novel drug sensitivities in T-PLL by high-throughput ex vivo drug testing and mutation profiling

T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) is a rare and aggressive neoplasm of mature T-cells with an urgent need for rationally designed therapies to address its notoriously chemo-refractory behavior. The median survival of T-PLL patients is <2 years and clinical trials are difficult to execute. Here we systematically explored the diversity of drug responses in T-PLL patient samples using an ex vivo drug sensitivity and resistance testing platform and correlated the findings with somatic mutations and gene expression profiles. Intriguingly, all T-PLL samples were sensitive to the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor SNS-032, which overcame stromal-cell-mediated protection and elicited robust p53-activation and apoptosis. Across all patients, the most effective classes of compounds were histone deacetylase, phosphoinositide-3 kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin, heat-shock protein 90 and BH3-family protein inhibitors as well as p53 activators, indicating previously unexplored, novel targeted approaches for treating T-PLL. Although Janus-activated kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription factor (JAK-STAT) pathway mutations were common in T-PLL (71% of patients), JAK-STAT inhibitor responses were not directly linked to those or other T-PLL-specific lesions. Overall, we found that genetic markers do not readily translate into novel effective therapeutic vulnerabilities. In conclusion, novel classes of compounds with high efficacy in T-PLL were discovered with the comprehensive ex vivo drug screening platform warranting further studies of synergisms and clinical testing.

Effect of alloferon 1 on central nervous system in rats

Alloferon 1 is an insect-derived peptide with potent antimicrobial and antitumor activity. It was isolated from blood of an experimentally infected insect, the blow fly Callifora vicina. Synthetic alloferon 1 reveals a capacity to stimulate activity of NK cells and synthesis IFN in animal and human models. Moreover, it was demonstrated antiviral and antitumor activity of alloferon 1 in mice. There are no data on influence of alloferon 1 on central nervous system. The aim of present study was to determine an effect of alloferon 1 on rats' central nervous system by some behavioral tests: open field test, hole test, score of rats irritability, and determination of memory consolidation in the water maze test. Moreover, a probable antinociceptive effect of alloferon 1 in rats was determined by a tail immersion test and hot plate test. Experiments were performed on female Wistar rats. Seven days before experiments, rats were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine and polyethylene cannulas were implanted into the right lateral brain ventricle (i.c.v.). On the day of experiment, alloferon 1 dissolved in a volume of 5 μL of saline was injected directly i.c.v. through implanted cannulas at doses of 5-100 nmol. It was found that alloferon 1 had slight effect on locomotor and exploratory activity, induced some decrease of rat irritability and a weak impairment of rats memory (only at the low dose of 5 nmol). On the other hand, the higher dose of this peptide exerts significant antinociceptive effect. Obtained results indicate that alloferon 1 do not exert any evidently toxic effect on central nervous system in rats. Therefore, alloferon 1 may be good new drug with antitumor and antinociceptive activity.